Regret
by purplecrown14
Summary: Draco and Harry had another fight. It didn't end well. Ron and Hermione went to see what happened and what they found was worse then they imagined. warning: character death, tiny bit of cursing, non magic


"...Bye." Hermione set the phone back into the holder and turned to look at her husband. "Draco's crying again."

"Did Harry leave? Again?" She nodded at the red head and headed over to the couch in the living room.

"I don't understand why, Ron. I mean, every time we see them they're fine and in love and happy, but then things like this happen and Draco falls apart and Harry coming here looking like a zombie. Why do they put themselves through that. Over and _over_. It's madness. I don't know whether they should put locked up together or never see each other again. I'm so... tired of this whole thing. This has to be the third time this year that it's happened." Ron shook his head sadly and sat down next to her. They held hands and listened to themselves breath.

"I guess we should wait for him to show up then. No use going to sleep now, he'd only wake us up. Let's watch a film, to pass the time, you know. Shouldn't be more than three hours at the most." Ron said to Hermione after a few moments.

The two watched a movie, and then some T.V. And then sat in silence, waiting. But Harry didn't show up. By the time it was eight thirty the next morning, Hermione had fallen asleep and Ron had circles under his eyes and he could hear his two children beginning to wake up. They were quiet this morning, as if they could tell something was amiss. The family of four sat around the kitchen table eating breakfast without muttering a word other than a mumbled "good morning." About twenty four hours after Draco had called Hermione, sobbing, Hermione decided to call again and see what happened. Maybe Harry had come back? It wasn't likely, but maybe... just maybe.

No one answered tho phone, however, and Ron looked at Hermione worriedly. "What do you think we should do, Herm? Should we go over and have a peek? Wait some more?"

"I think we should go over there and see what's going on. Draco never leaves the apartment when they have a fight, unless we make him. Let me just grab my coat. Tell the kids we'll be back soon, yeah?"

"Yeah, on it." Ron called after his bushy haired lover as she began to run up the stairs. The he turned to Rose and Hugo and sighed. "Your mum and I are gonna go check on Uncle Draco and make sure he's all right. You two think you'll be OK for a few hours?" They both nodded and went back to their previous activities. Ron collected his jacket and was putting on his shoes when Hermione returned from upstairs and went to grab three bars of bittersweet chocolate from the cupboard. They walked out of the apartment together and walked the short distance between their apartment and Draco and Harry's.

The door was ajar and the lights were on. Hermione stepped slowly into the silent home and looked around. There were smashed objects littering the floor and dinner left on the table to cool. There was a spot of blood on the white carpet.

"Shit. They really went at it this time." Ron declared as he looked over the room. "Come on, let's check the other rooms, just to make sure if he's here or not." Hermione nodded at him and they walked through the rest of the small apartment. They found nothing out of the ordinary until they came to the last room; the bedroom.

Half of the selves were empty and the bed was rumpled. Things were strewn over the floor and clothes in piles. On the floor next to the bed, the Weasleys found Draco curled in an uncomfortable looking position. It looked as if someone had thrown him there and he hadn't had the strength to get up. There was a pool of blood under his arm, which was scratched and had bits of glass poking out of it and dried blood under his nose. His eye was bruised and puffy and it looked like someone had tried to strangle him by the redness on his throat. Hermione gasped as she saw this and ran a hand through the white blonde hair.

"Draco, love. Are you awake?" Nothing happened and she shook him slightly, "Draco? Draco? Oh god, please tell me you're alright. Don't be dead. Oh please god, don't be dead. Oh god.. oh my goodness. Draco..." She was crying and shaking his lifeless body which did nothing. Ron ran out of the room and threw up in the trash can in the bathroom. He pressed his face against the cold tile floor and breathed in and out. It did nothing to help the feeling in his stomach and Ron vomited again. He stayed in the tiny room until he heard Hermione calling him.

"R-ron. C-can you g-get me the first aid k-kit? I w-w-want to fix him up." Nodded and moved around as if he were possessed to the linen closet. He found the kit quickly and passed it over to his wife. She took it, tears falling freely and rolled Draco over onto his back. "I don't think he killed himself. The wounds are really bad. I think he called us from the floor- there was phone next to him. I just... I just can't believe it."

Her voice was so calm, it was scary. The only other time Ron had heard her use it was when her mother passed away. Ron choked on the air as he watched her extract the pieces of glass from Draco's arm and shoulder and upper chest. Maybe it was the wine glasses that Harry and Draco had liked so much. Maybe Harry or Draco threw both of them on the ground and Harry threw Draco on top of the pieces... Maybe he tripped. Maybe Harry threw the pieces at Draco and then threw him on the floor. Harry wouldn't do that though, would he?

Hermione sewed up the wounds and covered them in bandages. She took off Draco's clothes and replaced them with clean, fresh ones. They laid him on the bed and put his arms on his chest so that it looked like he had been sleeping. They cleaned up the house, picking up shards of glass, chips of wood, pieces of plates, and making everything tidy. They threw out the dinner and washed all the plates and the kitchen and tried to get the blood spots off the floor. Hermione folded the cloths on the floor of the bedroom and returned them to their place and Ron finished cleaning all the other rooms up.

Neither of them said a word throughout this whole thing, but each one knew exactly what needed to be done and did it. When everything was as it was before, almost, Ron and Hermione met in the middle of the living room.

"I... I think we should call the cops. And go look for Harry. We'll have to call the Malfoy family as well and plan the funeral." Hermione could do nothing more than nod at the words of her husband and collapsed into his arms, sobbing. He held her close and choked up too. They rocked together slowly, neither wanting to release the other.

"Let's g-go home, R-ron. Please?" In acknowledgment, he took her hand and they walked back to their home. Rose and Hugo were sitting in front of the T.V. watching something and looked up when the door opened. Rose turned it off when she saw the look on her mother's face.

"Mum...?" Hermione shook her head and ran to her and Ron's bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Ron watched her go and sighed.

"Kids, there is something we need to talk about. Let's go to the kitchen, OK?" They nodded and followed him tot he tiny table and sat down on the wooden chairs. Ron grabbed three glasses and poured water for all of them. "You know how Uncle Draco and Uncle Harry have fights sometimes? Well we're not exactly sure what happened, but when your mother and I went to see why Harry didn't show up like he usually does, we found Draco lying in the floor... de- dead." Ron licked his dry lips and choked back a sob. He took a deep breath and looked at the table. "He's dead. We're going to call the Malfoy family and plan the funeral. We're going to find out what happened and where Harry went and we'll... we'll figure this out." Ron looked at this kids.

Rose was crying silently and had tears slashing down her front. Hugo was pale white and looked like he was going to throw up. He got up from the table and walked away. Ron could hear him rummaging around in his room. Rose got up as well and ran to her own room an closed and locked the door, but not before saying, "I can't believe it." under her breath.

Over the next few weeks, an investigation was made and Harry was found. The funeral went by and Ron and Hermione and the kids lived in a slightly uncomfortable silence. Neither children went out with their friends or did anything other than go to school dutifully and then sit around. Hermione took a bunch of weeks off of work and Ron dazed through his own job. No one bothered either one. No one really knew what was going to happen. Harry wasn't going to be put away for the murder of Draco Malfoy; it wasn't his fault. He didn't throw Draco on the floor and glass at him or anything. He just ran out and then went to get a drink and passed out. Ron and Hermione knew, but they stopped talking to him so much. They all kind of broke off into their own solitude.

No one knew who hurt Draco. Draco's parents had detectives trying to find out but nothing was found. None of the cloths that were missing were found. No DNA could be identified other than Draco's and Harry's and Ron and Hermione's. In the papers it said that Draco had committed suicide and Ron, Hermione, and their kids agreed with this idea. There was no proof of it being any other way, Harry refused to believe it and threw himself into the search more vigorously.

There were no answers found and Draco was forgotten by the world other than the people who cared about him. Harry could never move on. He moved out of the city and to the country side. Ron and Hermione sent him letters once in a while, but they never saw each other any more. The kids grew up and had their own families. Rose named her first born son Draco. Lucius, upon finding nothing in support of his son's "murderer", packed his things and left the Malfoy Mansion. He was never seen or heard from again. When Narcissa passed away from stress and sorrow, Hugo named his second child Narcissa to honor her.

The families were broken and put back together with missing pieces. Each person found a way top move on and continue living their lives. That is, everyone but Harry. He could never get over the guilt and horror and the loss of his one and only love. He lived alone, barely eating or sleeping and just lived. Anyone who passed by his small cottage, was welcomed in for a meal or a place to stay for the night. He would talk to the travelers about their adventures and allowed himself a small escape from sadness. The people however came only once in a long time.

About fifty years later, the now empty cottage was turned into an inn by Hugo's son and named it Harry's Haven in honor of the man. The business was wonderful and the Weasley family gathered there once in a while and swapped stories. They talked about all the good times of their family. They told old stories about how Harry and Draco got together, tales their parents told them throughout the years, and stories about their own lives. They laughed and joked and ate and sat by the fire. Nothing was ever forgotten. There were no secrets. No hate, no unanswered questions of small children. Everything was as a family should be. And as the family grew, the memories and stories were recounted countless times. Sometimes, couples would be in different countries or children in universities or out with friends, but everyone ended up in the inn eventually. Everyone was part of the story. They were a tightly woven net of acceptance and hope and love.

A/N: thanks to my wonderful "beta" cynthiarox66. :P


End file.
